Going live on KISS-FM!

Steve Hahn (from left), John Lisle and producer Kelley Kendall with Fast Eddie’s proprietor Mark Lewis, who vowed to contribue $10 to the station’s food drive for every challenger who beat Hahn in a game of pool Friday morning.

It felt like Old Home Week this morning when I did my “what’s up this weekend” spot on KISS’s “Lisle and Hahn Morning Show.” The first time I did the spot was live in person at the Quarry Market two years ago during the station’s Holiday Food Drive benefitting the Little Church of La Villita. And we talked about the new Bond movie, “Casino Royale.”

So there I was this morning, doing the spot live again for the first time since my debut (the others have been over the phone). Once again, it was during the food drive, this time at the Fast Eddie’s location on Embassy Oaks. And we had another new Bond movie to talk about.

At least this time, I didn’t have to follow World Car spokeswoman Vanessa Macias. And it was indoors and not nearly as cold.

Still, preparation was an issue. Since it was at a pool hall, would there be a festive, hooting throng of folks, like some recent KISS parties? Or would it be a low-key, come-and-go affair, like the food drive of 2006?

Deciding to take no chances, I figured I’d better show up with some visual aids in case I needed to help entertain the live audience as well as the listeners. So I put on my redundant T-shirt, which bears the image of that other famous Robert Johnson (the long-dead bluesman). Since one of my weekend touts was an item that mentioned Robert Johnson (porterdavis at Casbeers tonight), I figured I’d get some mileage out of that.

And I grabbed a pool cue out of our rec room, and taped on a price tag I tore off a pair of gym shorts my mother gave me years ago that I never wore. Showing up amid all the pool sharks with a cue with $9.92 dangling from it would make a nice look. The I heard co-host and wannabe shark Steve Hahn lament early in the show that he had forgotten his custom cue, so I figured I’d start my spot by offering him mine.

As it turned out, none of this was really necessary. There was only a smallish crowd watching the show, while outside in the parking lot people were dropping off food and donations. And Fast Eddie’s proprietor Mark (Big Lew) Lewis stepped up to offer Steve (who vowed to take on all comers after the show, but who was still sitting at the bar when I left at 10:45 a.m.) the use of his custom, $2,000 stick which he kept in a black, zippered bag. So I quietly grabbed my $9.92 cue and took it back to my car.

Anyway, the gig went well, although the romantic mood lighting made it difficult to read my notes, which were full of hilarious, scripted comedy bits. Also, although the morning show guys play spooky organ music every time his name is mentioned, I learned that Program Director and afternoon jock L.A. Lloyd isn’t nearly as scary as they’d like you to believe. And Hahn really does have parents  he introduced them to me after the show. They turned out to be very nice, friendly folks. Especially his mom.